I’m currently in front of the house that was the scene of a 27-hour standoff with police on Tuesday and Wednesday, resulting in the death of a man. As time goes on, more witnesses have been coming forward, sharing what they saw.
“It’s on my mind every minute of every day,” says Clayton Kramer.
Clayton and his son Tanner live across the street from where the standoff took place, giving them a front-row seat to the 27-hour standoff as they took many videos.
They tell me they knew the man involved.
“He’s been a very good neighbor. We’ve become friends over the last 3 years,” says Clayton.
Clayton and Tanner tell me what they saw during the standoff doesn’t line up with what the police say happened.
“At least from what we saw and got on video? He wasn’t opposing any threat when he was up there in his window. Until they started shooting their pellet guns or whatever they were shooting his windows out with,” says Tanner.
On their iPhone, they say they took anywhere from 60 to 80 videos. I asked why.
“We really kept up with the recording because we knew it was going to be fatal from the chemicals,” says Clayton. “We do feel that it’s an unjust situation in accordance with as many times as he was flash bombed and CS gassed.”
From what they were able to hear, Clayton and Tanner tell me they think the man involved in the standoff attempted to surrender multiple times.
“My impression is that the negotiations were lacking,” says Clayton.
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I met up with Bozeman Police Chief Jim Veltkamp to ask him what happened.
“People may say, and hear information being given over a loudspeaker, but that is not the primary communication,” says Veltkamp.
Veltkamp tells me officers have to give continual instruction throughout an event like this, which is what many people in the area heard over a megaphone.
“But the actual negotiation, the actual communication? It's typically taking place by phone and that’s what happened in this situation,” says Veltkamp.
Veltkamp tells me crisis negotiators are who people in the area were not able to hear. But the negotiators' contact with the man was on and off, according to Veltkamp.
“It sounded like at times they were making more progress. And at other times they were not,” says Veltkamp.
After 27 hours, this standoff came to an end. The result? Not what Veltkamp hoped it would be.
“It is an immense amount of time and energy. A lot of them up for a very long period of time trying to resolve this peacefully. And I believe they did everything they possibly could,” he says.
But for Clayton and Tanner, they feel this standoff could’ve ended differently.
“When I close my eyes, I can still see the picture in my mind of the officers. I can hear all the artillery and the megaphone. It’s just a constant battle in my mind,” says Clayton.
